NEWS BRIEFS
in filing Bills of Entry, temporarily dis-
pensing with submission of bonds,
wherever required, etc. Continuing with
these trade facilitation measures, it
has now been decided that all pend-
ing Customs refund and drawback
claims shall be expeditiously pro-
cessed in order to provide immediate
relief to the business entities, espe-
cially MSMEs, in these difficult times.
This decision has been announced
vide Press Note dated 08th April 2020
issued by the Department of Revenue,
Ministry of Finance.
It is hereby instructed that starting
with immediate effect there shall be a
“Special Refund and Drawback Dis-
posal Drive” with the objective of pri-
ority processing and disposal of all
pending refund and drawback claims.
This Special Drive shall be in place
till 30.04.2020. It is expected that dur-
ing this period all refund and drawback
claims that are pending as on
07.04.2020 shall be disposed.
The Principal Chief Commissioners/
Chief Commissioners shall monitor
the performance on this front closely
on a daily basis and, wherever re-
quired, suitably guide the officers con-
cerned to maximize the disposal. As
aforestated, the focus on refunds and
drawback is aimed at providing imme-
diate relief to the business entities,
especially MSMEs, which makes it
an imperative to ensure that there are
no delays.
In this regard, the following may kindly
be taken note of:
a. Though the decision to process
pending refund claims has been
taken with a view to provide im-
mediate relief to the taxpayers,
due diligence is to be done before
granting the refunds and drawback.
All the relevant legal provisions,
notifications, circulars and instruc-
tions must be followed while pro-
cessing these claims.
b. For facilitation of exporters, all
communication should be done
over email, wherever email id of
the applicant is available.Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue
New Delhi, the 08th April, 2020
PRESS NOTE
In the context of the COV1D-19 situation and with a view to provide imme-
diate relief to the business entities and individuals, it has been decided to
issue all the pending income-tax refunds up to Rs. 5 Iakh, immediately.
This would benefit around 14 lakh taxpayers. It has also been decided to
issue all pending GST and Custom refunds which would provide benefit to
around 1 lakh business entities, in MSME. Thus, the total refund granted
will be approximately Rs. 18,000 crore.
c. All deficiency memos may be reviewed and refund / drawback may be
considered on merit.
It is urged that in these difficult times all officers concerned make special
efforts to liquidate the pending refund and drawback claims by 30.04.2020
and make the Special Drive a grand success.
(Vimal Kumar Srivastava)
Joint Secretary (Customs)
2nd ITMF-Survey about the Impact of the Corona-
Pandemic on the Global Textile Industry
Between March 28-April 6, 2020, ITMF has conducted a second survey
among ITMF Members and affiliated companies and associations about
the impact the Corona-pandemic on the global textile value chain, espe-
cially on current orders and expected turnover in 2020. In total 700 compa-
nies from around the world participated.
Worldwide, current orders are down by -31% on average
The results show that companies in all regions of the world suffered sig-
nificant numbers of cancellations and/or postponements of orders. Glo-
bally, current orders dropped by -31% on average. The severity of the
decrease ranges from -20.0% in East Asia to -41% in South America.
Worldwide, expected turnover 2020 vs. 2019 is down by -28% on average
The results show that companies in all regions of the world are expecting
their turnovers in 2020 to be significantly lower than in 2019. On world
average, the turnover in 2020 is expected to be -28% lower than in 2019.
While in South Asia the expected turnover will fall by -15%, companies in
Africa are expecting a drop of -45%.
Only three weeks ago, some regions were not fully affected by the Corona-
pandemic. The new numbers on orders and turnover reveal the dramatic
extent this demand shock has on the textile industry around the world. The
uncertainty about the duration of the crisis weighs heavily on the industry.
Challenges: Lack of demand and liquidity – Opportunities: Medical tex-
tile products
Companies around the world highlighted the following main challenges:
•
•lack of current demand and/or fear that future demand will drop significantly
lack of liquidity
They mentioned the following main opportunities:
•companies producing fibres, yarns, fabrics and end-products with health
care and protection functions will see new opportunities.
NCM-APRIL 2020
88